Princeton, Minnesota

Princeton is a city in Mille Lacs and Sherburne counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the junction of the Rum River and its West Branch. It is 50 miles (80 km) north of Minneapolis and 30 miles (48 km) east of St. Cloud, at the intersection of Highways 169 and 95. The population was 4,819 at the 2020 census and an estimated 5,311 in 2022. A majority of its residents live in Mille Lacs County.

In the winter of 1855 Samuel Ross, Jame W. Gillian, Dorilus Morrison, John S. Prince and Richard Chute platted the town of Princeton. The plat was officially recorded on April 19, 1856.

Princeton's location near the junction of the Rum River and its West Branch was critical to the town's development. In 1847, Daniel Stanchfield led an expedition to explore the Rum River. The group discovered vast white pine forests upstream from Princeton's future site along the Rum River, the West Branch Rum River, and their tributaries. Three sawmills were built in Princeton between 1856 and 1867. Lumbermen floated logs down the Rum River to the Princeton mills, though most of the logs passed through Princeton to mills in Minneapolis.

Brick-making was another important industry in the Princeton area. The industry developed about two miles northeast of Princeton near beds of clay. A community known as Brickton formed in the location. From 1889 through the late 1920s several brickyards operated in Brickton, collectively producing as many as 20 million bricks per year. When the brick industry declined, Brickton ceased to exist. "Years after the last brick had been shipped from Brickton, specifications in contracts for construction of public buildings often stated that it should be of Princeton brick or of equally good quality."

Other important industries in Princeton's early years included wheat farming (before potatoes became primary), potato farming, starch production, dairy, and distilled spirits production, in which the town's distillery continues to play a key role.

Princeton is at the southern end of Mille Lacs County and extends south into the northeast corner of Sherburne County. The city center is about three-quarters of a mile north of the county border. U.S. Highway 169 passes through the west side of the city on a four-lane bypass, leading north 14 miles (23 km) to Milaca, the Mille Lacs county seat, and south 19 miles (31 km) to Elk River, the Sherburne county seat. State Highway 95 passes through the north side of the city, leading east 18 miles (29 km) to Cambridge and west to St. Cloud.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Princeton has a total area of 5.15 square miles (13.34 km²); 4.93 square miles (12.77 km²) are land and 0.22 square miles (0.57 km²), or 4.31%, are water. The Rum River and its West Branch join in the northeast part of the city. The Rum River continues south along the east side of the city and ultimately joins the Mississippi River at Anoka.

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,698 people, 1,926 households, and 1,176 families living in the city. The population density was 947.2 inhabitants per square mile (365.7/km²). There were 2,044 housing units at an average density of 412.1 per square mile (159.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.5% White, 0.4% African American, 0.7% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.